Our holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives/transparencies that we've scanned ourselves; in addition, many other photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) in the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) They are adjusted, restored and reworked by your webmaster in accordance with his aesthetic sensibilities before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here. All of these images (including "derivative works") are protected by copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions and may not be sold, reproduced or otherwise used for commercial purposes without permission.

Chiropody is an archaic term for podiatry; a chiropodist would be a chiropractor for your feet. If I recall the Seinfeld episode rightly, Jerry's mom had an appointment with one (I think they kept pronouncing it "sheropodist").

Since they offered manicures, perhaps they offered the chiropodist since no gentleman would be caught dead getting a pedicure?

Re: the glass grids - my understanding is that many of these buildings extended their basements under the sidewalks to (1) let light into the basement via the glass tiles and (2) provide a way for deliveries using a lift covered with heavy steel doors.

I noticed that this is in the bottom right corner of the Pardridge & Blackwell building. The sign sitting outside is what tipped me off. I just was enjoying the Pardridge & Blackwell: 1915 image and managed to wander here and immediately noticed it.

I didn't know that windows like the one above the door were ever made to open. And you can tell by the tiling in the sidewalk out front that this building is over an underground walkway, probably for steam tunnels. We still have patches of purple smoked-glass grid all over the city here in Spokane. The tunnels are still there, but have been closed for ages. This is one that I really wish we had a color reference for. I bet the stained glass barber poles were beautiful.

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.